Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39443901›Full record

ArticleBMC emergency medicine2024

Serious conditions among conveyed and non-conveyed patients presenting with nonspecific chief complaints to the ambulance service.

Robert Ivic-Morén, Katarina Bohm, Veronica Vicente, Emelie Arvidsson, Maaret Castrén, Lisa Kurland

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC emergency medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. An inter-rater reliability study of a modified version of SATS as a prehospital triage tool.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Robert Ivic-MorénDepartment of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden. robert.ivic.moren@rkh.se.
Katarina BohmDepartment of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden.
Veronica VicenteDepartment of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden.
Emelie ArvidssonDepartment of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden.
Maaret CastrénDepartment of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden.
Lisa KurlandSchool of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIt is a challenge for the ambulance service to identify which patients to convey to the emergency department (ED). Ideally this would be the patients with serious conditions requiring further care in the ED. However, patients presenting with non-specific chief complaints are difficult to prioritize and typically have normal or near normal vital signs despite up to one third having underlying serious conditions. The proportion of patients with serious conditions among non-conveyed patients with non-specific chief complaints (NSC) as assessed by ambulance clinicians is not known. Therefore, the primary aim was to study the proportion of serious conditions among conveyed and non-conveyed patients presenting to the ambulance service with NSCs. The secondary aim was to study the mortality rate among patients with NSCs in relation to conveyance and serious and nonserious conditions.

methodA retrospective cohort study of patients ≥ 18 years of age presenting with NSCs to the ambulance service in Stockholm Region between January 1st, 2013 and December 31st, 2013. Patients were identified via the ambulance service electronic health record and followed via records from the the National Patient Register and Causes of Death Registry at Sweden's National Board for Health and Welfare. Descriptive statistics as well as regression analyses were used.

resultsA total of 4744 patients were included with a median age of 76 years. A serious condition was present in 1398 (29.5%) of the patients. After index assessment by the ambulance service, 3780 (79.7%) were conveyed of which 1334 (35.3%) had serious conditions, compared to 964 (20.3%) who were non-conveyed of which 64 (6.6%) had serious conditions. 30-day mortality was 372 (9.8%) in the conveyance group compared to 32 (3.3%) in the non-conveyance group. If serious conditions were present, the mortality rates were 269 (20.2%) in the conveyance group compared to 11 (17.2%) in the non-conveyance group.

conclusionThe results show that serious conditions were more than five times more common among conveyed as compared to non-conveyed patients. Mortality rates were three times higher in the conveyance group as compared to the non-conveyance group. Our results suggest that the ambulance personnel play an important role in identifying patients with serious conditions, hence, likely to be in need of treatment in the ED.

trial registrationN/A.

Indexed as

AmbulancesAdultAgedAged, 80 and overEmergency Medical ServicesEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSwedenConveyanceNon-conveyanceNon-specific chief complaintsPre-hospital emergency medicineSerious conditions

Identifiers

PMID39443901
PMCPMC11515605

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.